Lead Data Scientist (Forecasting)

• Guild is hiring a Lead Data Scientist, Forecasting to scale the impact of our Forecasting and Financial Analytics team. You’ll own and improve critical components of our most complex and most important forecasting model — working inside a modern, modular forecasting system and experimentation framework to drive step-change improvements in how well we forecast clients’ education benefit program
• Develop and improve the usage-based forecasting models for critical components of clients’ education benefit with Guild, using advanced statistical and machine learning techniques
• Raise forecast accuracy and shorten the monthly refresh cycle, using a backtesting and experimentation framework to test methodological changes with rigor. Build tooling and process to catch correctable model issues
• Transfer modeling logic out of individual heads into well-structured, documented, tested code, building redundancy on a business-critical forecast
• Partner cross-functionally with Analytics, Data Science, Data Engineering, Product, and Technology teams to improve the data, systems, and infrastructure the forecast depends on
• Mentor and guide junior team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation
• Produce insights, analyses, and recommendations to help internal stakeholders understand forecast drivers and the impact on client and internal business metrics

Benefits

• Well-rounded wellness benefits including free and low cost mental health resources and financial wellbeing support services
• Education benefits and tuition assistance to help your future development and growth
• Equity stake in the company providing ownership and a path to future earnings (when we succeed, we all benefit)
• free one-on-one coaching with a certified financial planner, a platform with budgeting tools, investment and equity management center and many more financial resources through Origin (we believe financial literacy not only supports you personally, but also has a lasting impact in creating positive generational wealth practices)
• Employee Assistance Fund for unforeseen crises, disasters, and/or personal hardships and you need a little extra financial support (funded by the company and fellow Guilders to create a community of support)
• legal support and resources to navigate complicated situations like estate planning name changes, immigration, and more
• 401(k) plan with a range of diverse investment options and personalized retirement advice
• Multiple paths to meet educational and professional goals
• Fertility benefits built into all of our medical plans
• A $10,000 family planning fund to take care of costs that aren’t covered by the medical plans like adoption, surrogacy, and egg freezing expenses
• 12-20 weeks of paid leave and a ramp-up program for Guilders to ease back into work after an extended time away
• An additional 3 weeks of paid leave if you are going through the adoption, surrogacy, or foster process to use prior to your child’s arrival/placement to prepare and attend necessary meeting
• Inclusive guidance and support as you go through your family planning journey through Cleo
• Our on-site childcare center, The Beehive, offering care for children 3 months-6 years of age for employees and their friends and family members located in Colorado
• Personalized 1:1 support for anyone on the parenthood journey with access to a network of clinicians, experts, and specialists through Cleo
• 80 hours of low cost ($2/hr) emergency backup care for times employees unexpectedly find themselves without primary care for the ones they are responsible for
• Dedicated support in finding background-checked care providers to assist with child care, elder care, and chronic care needs through Helpr
• The ability to bring an actively nursing child and companion on work related trips
• Inclusive, affordable medical and behavioral healthcare when you need it
• Open PTO is available so Guilders can rest, recharge, and bring their best selves to work
• 10 Holidays including a collective week off over the 4th of July plus 5 floating holidays for cultural and religious events you celebrate
• Our leave policies are there to support employees and offer 12 weeks of fully paid medical, non-birthing parent, and caregiving leave as of day one of employment while birthing parents receive 18-20 weeks of fully paid leave
• Once Guilders reach 4.5 years of service, they are eligible for a 5-week fully paid sabbatical leave
• Up to 10 days of bereavement leave
• 8 sick days
• Up to 10 days of jury duty

Experience

• Experience with Looker, Tableau, Omni, or similar data visualization tool5+ years of total experience in analytics, data science, forecasting, or financial planning & analysis
• Experience operationalizing models — backtesting, validation, monitoring, drift detection, retraining — ideally on a platform such as Databricks with experiment tracking (e.g., MLflow)
• Proficiency in Python and/or R, with depth across time-series and machine learning forecasting methods and sound judgment about the tradeoffs among accuracy, interpretability, and stability
• The ability to translate forecasts, including their uncertainty, into clear recommendations for non-technical stakeholders
• Fluency with AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, or similar coding agents
• Strong experience with SQL and experience transforming and structuring large datasets into reusable formats
• A track record of getting productive quickly in an existing codebase and improving it collaboratively